beesweet

Great, thanks! I'm thinking I'll do Candle Source first if I can figure out the weird shipping thing on their site. Any experience with any of their other scents? I'm looking at Sugared Cranberries, Love Spell, Pink Sugar in particular?

My gosh, I would think that high a MP could definitely be the contributing factor. Most container waxes have a MP of 120-130. I may be wrong since I only do containers, but that seems to be more a hurricane type wax? I would think that would cause some wicking issues also.

Ooooh, I will definitely check them out, thanks! I've never ordered from Candle Source and hadn't even looked at their site! Can you describe it, Sharon? Angela, have you smelled the JS one? I think I need something from JS so I'll probably try that one, too, but their FO's don't always agree with my picky nose.

Yippee! We do have a Dollar Tree not terribly far away! Thanks!

What type of paraffin did you use? Melt point? I can't imagine jump lines at 180 unless your jars were very cold.

Darn, no Walgreens here...only Walmart at every turn! Just found out today that they purchased some property (to the tune of $1.5 mil ) so maybe next year!

Hi, all. I'm in need of a non- or not-too-spicy pumpkin that is skin safe. Would be great if it may be used in a soy/paraffin blend as well! Thanks!

Great choice!

:embarasse Scotchguard...now that was a "doh!" moment... Georgia, glad you got some!

Oops, where do you find spray waterproofing stuff?

My current canopy is one of those with the legs that angle out and I hate it. Our spaces are big at our shows (at least 15x15) so that wasn't a problem, it is just too difficult and time-consuming to put up and take town. Plus, it is showing signs of wear. It is made out of tightly woven plastic similar to tarps and it is finally beginning to have small frayed spots. Also, there is a loss of space since I believe the dimensions are measured by the legs and NOT the top. Not to mention, I'm a clutz who trips over the legs numerous times during a show. Unfortunately, I've called around and there is nowhere that has the ez-ups in stock. The closest was Sam's at 90 miles. We've decided to go ahead and get it, water it down and see what happens. The walmart guy said we could bring it back if it leaks since the literature states that it is water-resistant. I'll post back next week with my findings. Hmmm...may dig out the pool noodles and see how they work, too. We have a few old ones that are starting to flake if they haven't gone into the trash yet. Thanks for the tip!

IKS, that's a great idea. Be sure you have at least a mix of high and low pricing for comparable products. I am appalled at some sites that offer wholesale or less pricing for retail. Guess they have more money backing them than I do! Be careful not to underprice yourself and consider your time spent making the products. There are a couple of items where you aren't even doubling your cost for wholesale...no way could I do that and stay in business. Also, I noticed that you have a website. Don't forget that you'll have Paypal/credit card fees deducted from those prices, as well. Add to that the cost of hosting, time spent working on your site, peanuts and packing material etc. etc. I build the fees into my wholesale price before arriving at retail because that's where all those little fees and costs you don't think of really take a bite. You can always have a sale...raising prices when you realize you won't be able to stay afloat will only alienate more customers.

Tea tree is definitely a sensitizer...ask me how I know. I used a soap for a couple of months (on my face). Suddenly and with no warning, I used it one morning and my face turned hot and horribly red, broke out in an awful rash, and took 2 weeks to heal and return to normal. I can only imagine had I used it in a scrub, since abraded skin would allow more through. Granted, this probably is a rare occurence and I have a customer who has used a cream with a touch of tea tree on her face daily for a couple of years, but I would still be cautious because it only takes one person to have a reaction like mine...

Uggghhh...well, scratch that, then, if yours is the blue one in the picture. The sporting goods guy opened it and the papers inside said that the canopy was "water-resistant". I forget the exact wording but it had a blurb about keeping a small group dry and safe from the elements. Our local Walmart has sidewalls and also the mesh walls, sand bags, and stakes.

The May issue mentions green tea on the cover, the August issue has candles. The cover says Fall 2006 on the bar code. The link is http://www.createthedream.com/

Is this the only darker candle that you make? I met a candlemaker at a show last year that also had clear labels printed, then discovered that the text was lost on alot darker colors, not just black. He solved the problem by placing the clear label on top of a silver or gold label, depending on the scent...silver for regular candles, gold for fall/christmas.

It is quarterly. The first issue was in May, second in August, so I would assume the third will be in November. It is a great little magazine!

Thanks for the info. The roof falling in concerns me a bit since it always rains at least once at this show and strong winds are common. It's usually light rain, though, so that might be ok. One of my booth neighbors has an EZ-up and has problems with her roof filling up so she tosses a large tarp over it if rain is expected to help it run off. Maybe that would work just in case it rains overnight. Color isn't an issue. I've had brown, green, and silver in the past and my booth neighbor has a barn red one. I think I'll go ahead and buy it next week, set it up, and see how much damage I can do. I really like that the sides can be purchased and, if I'm reading the box correctly on the wind curtain sidewalls, the price will be around $140 for the canopy and side walls that go all the way to the ground. Much easier than the rigged setup I've had for years.

Has anyone purchased the blue First Up Canopy sold through Walmart? I have a show coming up next month and saw it today, but haven't found much information online regarding water-resistance and so on. Here's a link: http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4664265 The store also has sidewalls available for purchase separately for $35 or so.

Oh, I knew it was with the Paypal shipping, but it's free through the USPS site, too? Good to know, thank you all! I have another small order to send out tomorrow and will definitely take advantage of that!

Ahhh...I see the problem. I clicked parcel post instead of priority. I had a receipt for 8/28 that showed .50 so I was really confused. Oh, definitely worth it, but the postage isn't. $6.90 for a 2 lb 2 oz. box. Parcel is $6.45. Without insurance. I checked Fed Ex since I have a shipment arriving tomorrow and they are in the middle at $6.75. At least the insurance is included so I guess I'll go with them. It is just pitiful that a customer has to pay that much shipping for one candle.

Have postal rates increased recently? I was just calculating shipping for an order and the calculator shows $.60 for delivery confirmation. I could have sworn it was just .50 some time in the last couple of weeks.

I loved shea from Soaper's Choice until my last order. It is no longer a firm, beautiful white, but now a yellow, grainy, oily mess. I had the same problem with OBN so now I'm on the hunt for pretty, white shea. The only unrefined I've tried was from OBN and it smelled awful...not rancid, just some sort of strong odor. I'm still trying to force myself to use the products made with it since it definitely came through.

It sounds like both are nice. Maybe use packaging to differentiate? Can the cream-based one be work in a malibu or bottle?

Ahhh...WSP...I know 'em well and most of you know my opinion of them. Luckily, my merchant agreement cd is still in the laptop. Unluckily, I'm on the desktop so I have to type it out. It says that you may assess a surcharge on a card sale conducted using a credit card provided that the amount of the surcharge may not exceed the Merchant Fee payable by you for the card sale and you assess the surcharge on all credit card sales. You may NOT assess a surcharge or penalty fee of any kind on any other type of Card Transaction or for any sale conducted using a card other than a credit card. I know that my original merchant agreement stated that you could not discriminate in any way against credit card users: no minimums for cc purchases (though you can set a minimum for all purchases) and you could not charge the customer processing fees. So my guess is that is why they incorporate it into the "shipping & handling", though they aren't supposed to say that is part of the fee. While it isn't "illegal", they could have their merchant account suspended if they are not following their agreement. And by stating they are charging for the credit card fees, it would seem they are in violation. Aren't most merchant agreements pretty standard from company to company? I just received the updated agreement a few days ago.